VIJAYAWADA: YSRC state farmers cell convener and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) member MVS Nagireddy asked the government to immediately address the needs of farmers by waiving off all agricultural loans as farmers had been facing a lot of problems in starting cultivation due to lack of investment.
Speaking at a farmers roundtable held by Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) here Monday, Nagireddy pointed out that farmers were worried due to the delay in monsoon and the bankers’ refusal to give fresh loans against pending laons. Though farmers are facing a lot of problems in starting cultivation in the kharif season, the government is not taking any measures to address them, he said.
At the roundtable attended by farmer leaders, the focus was on farm loan waiver as many wanted the government to quickly come up with a decision as further delay would hurt farmers severely. “Though bankers are pressurising farmers for loan repayments, the government is not even instructing them to wait till a decision on the waiver is taken,” complained Chelasani Anjaneyulu, district president of Telugu Rythu Sangham.
Apart from the loan waiver issue, farmer leaders threw light on lack of support price and release of Krishna water for irrigation on the occasion. Rythu Samaikya Sangham president Yerneni Nagendranath said that farmers were not satisfied with the recent announcement of minimum support prices for agricultural produces. He urged the government to announce a new price policy, which was promised during the election campaigning, as the recently announced MSPs are not remunerative enough. In view of water shortage for the kharif season, he stressed the need to release water to the Krishna delta.
Bharatiya Kisan Sangh state secretary Kumaraswamy, BKS president Rambabu, Institution of Engineers’ representative Seshagiri Rao and CPI leader Ramakrishna were among other leaders who participated in the roundtable.